ZERO
by BiasedRabbit
Summary: Imagine waking up, not in your own home, but in a totally strange and foreign environment, and forced to play The Nonary Game to stay alive! This is the life of normal college guy Gavin Daniels. Join in this mind-blowing adventure as not everything may be as it seems, especially the eight other people condemned to the same fate as him! This story will be split up into Four Arcs.
1. ARC 1: Prologue - Zero

**[Prologue]**

**[APRIL 30th, 2017]**

All is dark, I cannot see anything, I feel as if I'm drifting off. I don't know where I am. I hardly remember anything, just waking up now. My name is Gavin Daniels, I'm your average college student, living off of ramen and the usual sandwich. Well, I guess I _was_ just an ordinary college student, until this at least. The last thing I can remember, is what happened when I got back in my dorm after my classes. The power went out, and then some smoke filled the air, I passed out.

Now I'm here, all I can see is darkness, I guess I'm not even fully conscious, then that's whe-

"H-HEY! WAKE UP!"

I'm violently woken from my half-awake state and I look up to find a girl sitting over me. My vision is blurry, so I can't make out much.

"A-Are you up yet?" she asks me, shaking me by the shoulders.

"Who...are you?"

I look around past her and notice my surroundings. It looks like some fancy party lounge or something. Although, it looks like it hasn't been used in years. The girl turns me back around, I'm staring right into her face now, and she does look familiar.

"Oh, okay, you are up! That's great! It's good to see you, Gavvy!"

She exclaims, yet she is hugging me so tight it's cutting off my circulation.

"H-Huh? How do you know my name?" I blurt out.

"Oh, you don't remember? It's me! Meg!"

I ask her to let go so I can breathe, and then it clicks. She had been my childhood friend, Meg Adata. She had moved away when we were just starting high school. Her father had been the founder of the famous company, ADATA Inc., and he had to move to adjust to his new job. I haven't seen her in years, which I guess explains why I didn't recognize her right away.

"Woah, Meg! Long time no see! What are you doing here, no wait, what are _we _doing here?!"

"Do you remember what happened before you got here?" She asks, a stern look on her face.

"Uh, no. All I remember is heading back into my room before some weird smoke appeared in my room, and I guess I passed out."

"Huh, same here."

"H-Hey, who are they?"

I point up towards the staircase, where it seems to be a group of people coming down, chatting amongst themselves. They stop once they reach the bottom of the stairs, just staring at Meg and I.

"H-Hey! More people! Do you know where we are?" An older man calls out from the group. He looks to be around his fifties.

A woman behind him answers,

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. They could be in the same position as us."

He looks from us to her, then back to us.

"Oh, so you were kidnapped too?" I ask.

"Why...yes, we all met up a room or so back, well, I guess it's good to meet some more survivors."

We walk up to the other 'survivors', and begin talking about our experiences on how we got here.

The **Old Man**, whom cannot remember anything, even his own name. He is about 5'9", and his hair has already greyed. He wears a large trench coat with trousers. On his wrist is a bracelet that shows the number "1" on it's face.

There's the **Woman**, who was out getting groceries for her kid when the white smoke entered the store and she passed out. She looks to be in her thirties, and is a little taller than I, about an inch or so. Her black hair is cut short, just above her shoulders, and she is wearing a yellow t-shirt, with some jeans. She too has a bracelet around her wrist, it has a "2" on the face of it.

A **Guy who is nearly my age**, whom was in a car accident last he remembered. He was driving home from school for spring break, and a man in a sports car had crashed into him. The driver got out of the car, and then threw something into his window, and the smoke filled the car. He has jet black hair. He wears cargo shorts with a green shirt with some designs on it about a band I'd never heard of. A bracelet is on his wrist too, with a "3" on it.

There's **Meg**, whom was kidnapped when she entered her bedroom and smoke started to fill the air. She says that she might've heard some sort of clicking noise, but she is unsure. She has light blonde hair that falls past her shoulders. She wears a jacket that has pandas decorated all over it, and some jeans. She has a bracelet with a "4" on it.

**Me**, whom also was nabbed when I entered my room, and smoke flooded the room. I'm nineteen, and I have short brown hair. It's usually always messy. I'm just in my clothes from school, a shirt I threw on earlier in the day and some jeans. Now that I look, I too have a bracelet with a "5" on it.

A **Girl**, who looks to be about seventeen, was walking home from school one night when a van pulled up beside her. She says they opened up the door, and asked if she wanted a ride home. She says no, and then she is grabbed from behind, probably from the bushes, and pushed into the car. She says she fainted after that. She has somewhat long auburn colored hair, and she wears a purple long sleeve shirt on, and a frilly skirt. She is also the sister of the guy with the "3" on his bracelet. Her bracelet has a "6" on it.

A **Girl**, who is in her twenties. She was working late, and then her boss had come down to ask if she could lock up for the night. She had agreed, and about twenty minutes later, there was a noise when a smoke bomb entered the room and she fell under. She has short blonde hair, and she is wearing a pink designer jacket, and white pants. Her bracelet has a "7" on it.

A **Guy**, in his mid twenties, who was reading in his home when he had heard a clicking noise, similar to Meg. He saw the smoke and he began to search for the source, when he saw a can on the ground with a red zero painted on the side of it. He is taller than me by quite a bit, but he's a bit skinnier. He wears a beanie and has glasses. He wears a blue shirt, with some brown pants. His bracelet has an "8" on it.

A **Guy**, who is about eighteen, was hesitant to speak about anything at first, but he says he was just in his room and he fell unconscious. He has light blonde hair, and he is wearing a brown overcoat, that looks to be a size too small for him, and some blue jeans. His bracelet has a "9" on it.

"Okay, so our stories, for the most part, are similar, so how did we end up here?!" I ask.

Just as I said it, a blaring sound came from an intercom speaker within the room.

"Hello, I assume you've had a nice nap. I am your captain, **[Zero]**. You have been gathered for my game.

The **[Nonary Game]**. You have nine hours to escape this ship, or you will all die on board.

You all have been applied with Bracelets that act as a transmitter to a tiny bomb inside your body.

Should you not follow the rules, or refuse to play, the bracelet will send a signal to the bomb inside you, and kill you.

There are only two ways to remove this bracelet;

1. You escape this ship

2. Your heart rate reaches zero.

I implemented the bomb in you hours ago, forcefully throwing it up is futile, as it has already passed into your small intestines.

There are 9 of you. I suggest you work together, for that will be the easiest way to escape, yet you can totally act on your own accord.

I will leave the decision up to you.

There are nine doors that are numbered throughout this ship, as you can see, two of them are in front of you.

As the Titanic sank under the ocean, this ship is also in danger of sinking.

There are 9 hours to escape, alive, water has submerged the** [D Deck] **of the ship.

To do so, you must find the door that is labeled **[9]**.

There are rules when entering a door.

-Only 3-5 people can enter through a single door.-

-Only one door may be active at a single time.-

-You may only enter a door, if your teammates' number and yours adds into a **[DIGITAL ROOT]**.-

-Example, Teammates **[3]**,** [5]**, and **[9]** may only go through Door **[8] **together-

{3+5+8=16}

{1+6=7}

-All teammates that open a door must enter the door, and must participate within the door.-

Inside each room...well, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. Good Luck."

We stared at each other at this announcement, speechless.

Will we be able to get off this ship alive?


	2. ARC 1: Chapter 1 - Isolation

We stand in silence, all looking at each other nervously.

The young girl with a [6] looks as if she wants to say something, but can't.

"You have an idea?" I ask.

She looks quite startled when I speak.

"I...I thought that we should have code names...because we don't know if this Zero guy is watching us...we don't want him getting to our family members...right?"

She looks towards her brother.

"I agree with her on this one, we could just call each other by our numbers, it's be easy to remember, and Zero won't find out our real names," Meg chimes in.

She looks and winks at me.

"Right, Five?"

"Wh-What if he already knows?" I ask, timidly.

"Well, we can just hope," Three adds.

"Okay, I guess. how about you, Nine?"

"Whatever, can we hurry up and move on to get our asses out of here?" He snaps back.

"I agree, now, what do we do about these doors?" Two asks.

She walks forward, apparently she was just finished speaking to One about something.

"Well...It seems that there are two doors we can choose from..." One says, somewhat choked up about something.

He regains his composure.

I turned to look, there were two doors, well two that had stood out. They had red paint smeared in the shapes of numbers.

One with a [4], and one with a [5].

Zero had mentioned that there were two important doors in front of us.

Then I noticed something else, it was a single sheet of paper on the ground.

"Hey, what's this?" I ask, grabbing for the sheet.

_**{REDACTED}** 6/30/2012_

_I, **{REDACTED}**,request the construction of the **{REDACTED}**,the **{REDACTED}**._

_These will be my notes throughout the project._

_The **{REDACTED} **is said to launch out on **{REDACTED} **sometime in 2016, I wish for it to be a grand success._

_Tomorrow is a new day._

"Well, it's got a lot of the information redacted." I say, reading off of the sheet out loud.

"Aw, really? That sucks. I wonder what it was? What "launched" I mean." Meg asks.

"I dunno, that's really weird, maybe that Zero guy wanted us to find it?" Says Six.

"I'd assume so, it would make sense that it was here." I reply.

I stuff the paper into my pocket, and we walk in front of the doors.

"H-Hey Five..." Six calls out.

"Have you seen Seven, Eight or Nine?"

I try and figure it out mentally who she's speaking about, because this whole number business is honestly confusing.

"Uh,"

I look around, and I don't see anything until I look back and see a small hallway, and a fraction of an elbow sticking out. I believe it's Nine, as it's the same color as his coat.

"H-Hey, I think they're over here, I'll go check it out." I call, and jog off.

The others go and look at the doors.

I walk into the small hallway,

"So...who is going in what door?"and peek over the side of the wall.

I see Nine, peeking over the side of the wall, same as I, weird. I walk up to him, and whisper,

"What the hell are you looking at, and where are-"

"Shhh, man! You're going to make me miss the show!" Nine replies, shooing me away.

"What show?"

He sighs, and pulls me over next to him, and I see Eight and Seven speaking to each 's hard to hear what they are saying, but I can get bits and pieces.

"What ar-here? I th-I to-st-hom-" Seven says.

"I kn-it'd-b-Ja-k. I h- to sav-y-. I over-"

"Hush! I think..." Seven begins to say, but then turns around and sees us propped around the wall.

"Oh shit, See ya Five! I'm out of here!" Nine says, and begins to trail off.  
I attempt to grab him by his collar. When I do, he turns around and his fist meets my chin, and everything goes dim.

My eyes open, and the whole group is circled around me, whispers and voices go in and out, I lift my head.

"F-Fuck...what happened?"

"Nine slugged you right in the jaw." Eight says, pushing up his glasses.

I remember, and look over at Nine, giving him a look that means 'What the hell, bro?"

He shrugs.

"Shouldn't touch me, man. You'd better learn that quick."

I grunt, and stand up, I'm facing the two doors.

"So...what do we do about these again?"

Six answers.

"We have to find the digital root thing, to see who goes through which door."

"Fuck Man, I hate Math, Hey Gramps, you still got enough brain cells to do some adding?" Nine retorts.

"Alright Nine, that's enough." Two replies, looking over at One.

I block out their noise until it comes to me.

"I have it." I say.

"Really, now? Well, let's hear it wise-guy!" Nine says.

"Alright, Seven, Three, One, Two, you will be going through Door [4]."

7+3+1+2=13

1+3=4

"The rest will be going with me through Door [5]."

4+5+6+8+9=32

3+2=5

"Hey man, why you gotta put me in the smaller group?! I gotta watch over-" Three begins to say, until Six interjects.  
"Ad-Three, It'll be okay, I can handle myself..."

"Don't worry Three, I'll take _real_ good care of Six for you."

He grins viciously, and he gives a cocky wink to Three, who looks like he's about to explode.

"Why you little Prick! Just wait until _we_ get a room together, than I'll show you!"

"I'm sorry, I'd rather just have this room with-"

"STOP! Just...Stop. We don't have time do argue like two little children! Let's just get a move on before we are fucking dead!" Six yells.

She storms off to Door [5].

"Alright, I guess we'll open our door first, see you guys on the other side..." I trail off.

"Bye then, the best of luck to you." Two remarks.

"Don't Die." One says calmly.

Seven simply stares at Eight.

Three pulls me aside.

"Five, Don't let that asshole Nine get too close to Six, Got that?"

"Uhh...I...Sure...?"

I feel stupid for how nervous I'm letting myself get.

Meg grips the handle, she looks at Six, then Eight, then Nine, and then finally Me.

"Are you guys ready?" She says.

We all nod, and then she turns the handle to the large metal door, and pulls it open.

We see nothing but darkness past the door itself, we brace ourselves, and step into the darkness.

The door slams behind us, I attempt to re-open the door.

"...Locked in." I say, letting go of the handle.

"Well, looks like we're in here for the long run..." Eight replies.

"So...should we get going?" Meg asks, twiddling her thumbs.  
"You want to live, don't you? Of course we're going." Nine bluntly states.

I need to stop this tension, so we can get shit done.

"Alright then gang, let's head down this hallway."

"Gang? What are we, the fucking Scooby-Doo Group?" Nine asks in sarcastic wonder.  
"...You mean Mystery Incorporated?" Eight points out.

"We need to focus here, not make up silly made up names." Nine spouts out.

"Made-up? I don't even..."

"While horribly dense, he has a point, we can't be sitting here arguing trivial matters!" Meg interjects.

"She's right!" Six chimes in.

"But! He star-No, never mind, fuck it."

The faster we get through here, the faster I can get away from Nine, that'll be my self goal.

Pretentious asshole.

"Alright, let's just get a move on." I sigh and shake my head.

We enter what seems to be a Parlor Room.

There is a table in the middle of the room, and some surrounding chairs, a dresser, and a painting, which upon further inspection is just a frame on a wall. There is a single exit on the other side of the room, but there is what seems to be an electronic lock on it, with the following numbers written on it,

**20 8 5 20 9 20 1 1 9**

"What do you think it means?" Six asks.

"I dunno, just looks like numbers to me." I reply.

"...I know." Eight pipes up.

I'm slightly suprised by his calm and quiet answer.

"It's a Cryptogram, each number corresponds with a number. A is 1, B is 2, and so on."

"Great, we have a whizz kid." Nine waves his finger around.

"Nine, seriously, can it." Six says.

"C'mon, you know I was just joking around Sixy."

"Oh, ha ha, very creative, dick."

"Please, can I have some quiet to do my work here? Five, since I cannot bear to hear these two arguing, take Six and go investigate the rest of the room while I crack this code. It shouldn't take long." Eight crosses his arms, and points to Six and Nine.

"Oh...uh, alright."

I feel my palms start to sweat. Six is an attractive girl, I won't lie, I just have to remember one thing, to not make Three think I like her. He'd probably kill me, literally.

We head over to the dresser, and begin looking around it.

"So, what is with you and Nine?"

"...Oh, he's from my school. He's been trying to get with me for awhile now."

"Let me guess, to no success?"

"Yes."

"Is it because he's an asshole?"  
"Correct again Five. So, Let me ask a question."

"Okay, shoot."

"So, what is with you and Four?"

I try as hard as I can, and yet I cannot stop a blush from coming out.

"Oh...We...We used to be old friends."

"Pshh, That cannot be all."

"Well, our time together was cut short, because her father had moved her family away when we were just starting high school."

"Wow, how old are you?"

"I'm Nineteen."

"Wow you're Oooooold"

Any self-confidence I had was just smashed by a seventeen year old. Go me.

"Well...It's not that-Hey, what's this?"

It seemed to be another sheet of paper, like the one in the other room.

_**{REDACTED}** YEAR 1 6/31/2012_

_I was given a crew to help me build the ship, preparations are heading as they should be._

_Blueprints should be finalized by the end of the week._

_Things are looking up._

"Ship...? Like, the ship we're on right now?"

"Woah, that's some creepy stuff..."

I look over to Eight, to look at his progress, who seems to have just finished. He does a mini fist pump into the air, and realizing how stupid he looked, he calmly put it down.

"Hey, Eight, You finished yet?

"Ah! Oh, yes Five, Perfect Timing! Everyone, gather round!"

We all gather in a semi-circle around Eight, as he's practically hopping up and down over his work.

"So, what was the code?"

"Yes! Please, so we can open the door!" Six seems to be just as giddy.

Four...not so much, she had to go search with Nine.

"Just hurry up and tell us already." She says with almost visible annoyance.

He regains his composure, and stands still, like a professor about to give a lesson.

"Alright, after my work on this lock, I've concluded...It's impossible, we are all doomed."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...What?!" We all scream.

"Just Kidding, just kidding! Just trying to lighten the mood here people."

"Oh, Lighten the mood? I'm going to fucking lighten your head of blood in a minute!" Nine yells.

He goes to take a swing at Eight, it takes Me, Six, and Four to hold him back.

"Dude, not funny, just tell us the damn answer." I say.

"Alright, jeez, tough crowd. So, when I converted all of the numbers into letters, it spelled out 'THE TITANIC II'. But when I inserted the code, nothing happened."

"The...Titanic II? Like Two?" Meg asks, turning her head.

"Most likely, yes."

"Well, what will we do about it then?"

"I'll have to do some more footwork. Give me a few minutes."

"Oh, well okay, I guess I'll go check near the chairs or something." Six says.

She goes to investigate which gives me a few minutes to talk to Meg.

"So, have fun talking to Nine?"

"Well, not as fun as you had talking to Six."

"Look...I...that was nothing...we were just..."

"Woah, hold on there sheriff, I'm just screwing with you, don't need to break into a huge sweat or anything."

"Oh...okay, well, still. Nothing happened."

"Don't worry there, I believe you."

She gives me a playful shove. I shove back, she accidentally trips and hits the empty frame, which knocks over, revealing an indent.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, I'm fine, really. What is this?"

She touches the indentation, then suddenly a cheer of joy can be heard from the other side of the room, Eight.

"What is it?"

"It's working! The lock has unlocked!"

"What? That's great!"

Nine gets up from the chair he was sitting in and begins to stretch.

"Well, took ya' long enough Einstein."

Nine can never just give a compliment, can he?

"C'mon, leave him alone, he may has well saved our lives for the moment."

"Yeah, well I could've easily busted that door down and gotten through, but smartshit here wanted to play it 'safe'."

"Safe? I'm pretty sure the moment you did that, you would have been blown to smithereens by that bomb in your gut for 'cheating'." Eight replies back.

He grunts and looks away.

"Alright, smartass, let's just get going and you can boast about your huge 'muscles' or whatever." I say, putting my hand on the door handle.

I didn't actually mean that, but from the entire walk through the door, to the next hallway, into the next area, he actually _did_ boast about his muscles. Why did I add him to _my _team again?

Oh well, we enter into what seems to be a main entryway. Every exit and entrance is sealed tight with some kind of metal I don't know of. I guess we wait here for the other team...hopefully.


	3. ARC 1: Chapter 2 - Solidarity

We waited for what seemed like forever. We heard no sign of the other group coming back.

"How long are they going to be?" Meg asks.

"I dunno, and these doors won't seem to open until they get here. Eight, how long do we have?" I reply.

"Hm, about seven hours and forty minutes."

"Shit, well, what are we going to do if they don't show up?"

Right as I say that, one of the doors seems to open, and One, Two, Three and Seven walk through.

"Three! I was so worried!"

She goes over and hugs him.

The joy on Six's face is immense, the tension in the air almost retreats.

_Almost_.

"Ah, You're okay, that makes me feel a lot better." Three hugs her back.

One steps up,

"Nice to see you all breathing, I take it your puzzle wasn't too hard?"

"Nah, We had Eight, who luckily could solve a Cryptogram. Oh, and we found this."

I hand him the note we had found in the room.

"Hm?"

As he is reading through it, Seven peeks over his shoulder.

"Oh, we found a note like that too..."

She takes it out of her jacket pocket, and it is a sheet of paper all folded up.

I take the third note, and read it.

_**{REDACTED}** YEAR 1 12/24/2012_

_Haven't updated in awhile._  
_We managed to get a diving team down there for any old relics we could find._

_They said they might have found something interesting, something the police missed._

_I'm going to check it out immediately._

_The family will understand._

"Wow, this guy seems like a total workaholic." I say.

Meg takes the sheet from me and scans it over.

"Ugh, I hate parents that choose their work over their families. It disgusts me."

I could just smell the parental problems from over here, but I decide to keep quiet.

"Oh, do you guys per chance know anything to do with a ship called the Titanic II?" Eight joins in.

Nine puts his arm on Eights shoulder, feigning intelligence.

"Pshh, Yeah, it's the boat they used in that movie, duh."

"No, Nine, That was the first Titanic, and that wasn't just a movie." I reply.

Nine cups his hand over his mouth, but makes no attempt to whisper to Six,

"Heh, kid still thinks movies actually happened."

"Kid? I'm older than you..."

"Details, details." He rolls his eyes.

"I think I know..." Two interrupts.

The air is silent as everyone stares at Two.

"Yes, Two?"

"If I remember right, The Titanic II was a replica of the original Titanic that started development sometime in 2012."

"Do you know what happened to it?" I ask.

"I had heard it failed horribly, and killed a bunch of civilians."

I feel a pain in my stomach, innocent lives lost over a cruise ship...twice?

It makes me wonder...why is this information important?

Unless...

"Oh...So, I had an idea." I chime out.

"Yes, Five?" Meg asks.

"I'd assume...that Zero wanted us to find these sheets of paper onThe Titanic II."

"Why would he do that? To give us a neat little history lesson?" Three asks.

"I think...that we're _inside_ The Titanic II."

Everyone gasps...except Nine, who chuckles slightly.

"Alright, do you want me to list the reasons on why that is totally fucking insane?"

"Hear me out on this...we have a whole submerged deck, so that means that the ship we are on has taken on water, correct?"

"Water that Zero can somehow control..." Six pipes up.

"I don't mean to say he actually put us on the boat that is at the bottom of the ocean, that'd be insane...and I'm pretty sure we'd all be dead by now."

Everyone is silent.

"So...I suggest we're in some sort of...recreation. The original Titanic had many museums constructed in honor of those who had passed...maybe we're in some top secret one?"

"I think Five is on to something here." Eight adds.

Nine begins clapping.

"Yes, congratu-fucking-lations Five. You've solved the great world mystery. It doesn't change a thing on how we get the fuck out of here though, we're wasting time!"

"Yes, I assume the ill-mannered boy is right, time is of the essence." One says.

"Hey, yeah, that's good. You guys go ahead and check out the doors, I need to speak with Five for a minute." Three calls out, and practically pushes everybody else to the nearby doors.

Eeveryone goes semi-willingly, except for Nine who is making kissy-faces and saying something about a "bromance".

"Uh...sure."

"Hey, I'd just like to thank you for keeping my sister safe."

"Oh, no problem."

"No, really. I appreciate it, It's been hard for me to help her recently."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"I was so busy with school, My sister and I had lost our parents when we were young, and I've been the only one to take care of her. I was heading home for spring break to help out with anything she needed and then..."

"The crash...?"

"Yeah...It's weird though. I have this one memory of the event, I didn't share it back there because I'm not too sure if it's real myself..." he says hesitantly.

"Huh?"

"When our cars collided, for a split second, I saw the driver get out, and he was wearing...this weird gas mask."

"Gas mask...?"

Suddenly, memories come flooding back in an instant, and I see myself back in my college dorm. I am nothing, it's like a vision, I'm staring at this memory from a third person perspective. I see myself walk into the room, and then the world changes and I'm looking at it through the other me's eyes.

I'm paralyzed with fear, I don't know what is going on, this has never happened before. I walk into my bathroom, and look into the mirror, and I see myself. Nothing unusual except for the figure standing behind where I am, a figure in a dark cloak and a gas mask.

I'm back in the room with Three.

"W-What the..." I say, dazed and confused.

Three looks at me in a weird way.

"You okay, Five?"

"H-How long was I out?"

"Out? You weren't out at all...you just had this fuzzy look on your face for a few seconds. You sure you're...?"

"I-I'm fine."

I must just be hallucinating, haven't eaten or had anything to drink in awhile.

That must be it.

"You said you were going on spring break, from what school?" I change the subject.

"I attend Ohio University. Well, if that's all, let's rejoin with the group, eh?"

He walks up to join the rest of the group huddled around three new opened doors, which I guess had opened when I was having that hallucination.

Doors [3], [7] and [8].

What's weird is...he goes to my school. I hadn't noticed it, but I sort of remember him now, I saw him around on campus. Are we all connected by some thin string of logic?  
Why had Zero gathered us? I had seen One and Two speaking privately, maybe they know each other? Seven and Eight seem to also know each other, same with Six, Nine, and Three. Then there's Meg and I.

What connect us all?

I do not know the answers to these questions, but I hope I will find out soon.

I walk to join with the others, who seem to just have finished assigning the numbers to the doors.

"So, who is going where?" I ask, my mind still preoccupied.

"Ah, Five, right on time. I'm going with you and Eight through door [8]." Meg says as she gives me a side-hug.

4+5+8=17

1+7=8

"I will be leading with Two and Nine through door [3]." One says.

1+2+9=12  
1+2=3

"And Me, Six, and Seven will be going through door [7]." Three replies.

3+6+7=16

1+6=7

"Alright, are you ready Four, Eight?" I aks.

"Nuh-uh. Now, It's _my _turn to lead. C'mon gramps, lady, we're going first." Nine objects.

"Well, didn't Five say-" Two tries to say.  
"Listen, Five isn't our supreme overlord. I say we are going first, now let's go!"

Six tries to calm him down.

"Nine, just calm the fuck down and we can-"

What happens next is completely unexpected. Nine looks right at Six, and slaps her right across the face, she falls down, and begins to cry.

Both me and Three go to fight back.

"What The FUCK?! You think I'm going to let you be conscious right now after that?!" Three is enraged, as he yells after Nine.

"Dude! That was TOTALLY uncalled for!" I call also.

I punch him as hard as I can. He gets knocked back, and has a slight bloody nose.

"Well, next time, don't get in my way...C'mon, we're going."

He then opens the door, and walks through.

"Cmon, you'd better hurry, or all three of us are dead." He points to his bracelet as if it were an actual watch.

One and Two sulk into the room, and the door shuts.

I then help Six to her feet, and she hugs me, still crying.

I remember that Meg is watching, and I try not to make it too flirty.

"T...Thanks Five. And you too Three." Six sniffles.

Even I cannot hide my blush now.

"Uhh, yeah. No problem."

"That was horrible..." Meg says, oblivious to me, thankfully.

"The prick is lucky he ain't here right now..." Three says.

Eight and Seven seem to be off in the corner chatting, unaware of what had happened.

Six finally let's go of me, and dries her eyes.

"...That bastard will get what's coming to him."

"Don't worry Six, when he steps through that door, He's fucking dead." I assure her.

As if on cue, a blood-curdling scream is heard. It seems to last for eternity, but actually only lasts for a few seconds. Then silence.

"W...What was that?" We all seem to say in unison.

'I don't know, but it has me worried..." I say.

"Do you think...?" Six begins to say.

"I don't know what to think, but I say we just ignore it until we get any proof of anyone...dead." Meg says trying to keep everyone calm.

"Yeah, we need to be on our A-Game for this next door, who knows what could be behind it?" I say, still slightly shaken.

A light above the two doors goes green.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, that light signifies when the next team can enter a door." Seven says as she walks up, done with her conversation with Eight.

"Oh, so that means they're finished?" I ask.  
"Seems like it. Five, Four, you ready to go next?" Eight replies.

"I guess I am, Five, what about you?" Meg says.

"Well, ready as I'll ever be. Six, Three, Seven, Take care of yourselves." I reply.

"You too, Five." Three says.

Seven just nods at Eight.

There was silence from Six. She just looked at me with a sad expression.

"Well...Here we go."

Eight grabs hold of the handle, and opens the door.

We begin to walk through the door.

Six whispers something quietly.

"Good luck Five."


	4. ARC 1: Chapter 3 - Truth

We walk into what seems to be a room full of technology.

There is a lone computer, a generator seems to be running, and a lone bookshelf. A door is locked on the other side of the room.

"I'll go check out the bookshelf, see if anything is in or on it." Meg says, as she walks over to the shelf.

I nod, and my attention immediately turns to the computer.

"Hm? Is that a computer? Does it work?" I ask, looking it over.

Eight joins in and kneels down beside the monitor.

"Hm, Let's see"

He presses the power switch, and it turns on!

"I'm going to be honest, I didn't think that would be that easy." Eight jokes.

He looks around, I'm presuming for a chair of some sort.

There are none.

He continues kneeling, and begins typing on the keyboard.

Several windows open and close on the screen I can't keep up, he really is a wiz at this sort of thing.

He then stops, the screen shows five lines of text.

"What's this?"

Meg asks as she walks back, empty handed.

"These seem to be text files I can download, which one should I do first?"

As he says, there are five files on-screen. They are;

"The Priestess of Amen-Ra"

"Titanic II"

"Zero"

"ICE-9"

"Morphogenetic Field"

"Umm, click the one that says 'Zero', maybe it'll give some information on him?" Meg says, leaning over my shoulder to get a better look at the screen.

"Alright, here we go."

He clicks on the file, and leans back. Some text appears on screen.

**Zero** - A number between Negative 1, and Positive 1.

"...You've got to be fucking kidding me." I say, exasperated.

"Is this it...? I can say I'm thoroughly disappointed." Eight remarks.

"Well...That stinks, try another one." Meg says.

He backs out of the file, and proceeds to click on the one about the priestess.

** THE PRIESTESS OF AMEN-RA**

The mummy of the late "Priestess" was discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb. It is said that she was preserved in some top-secret material, before she was put in her is attributed to causing bad luck and misfortune to anyone who comes across her. She is also believed to be a cause of the sinking of the ship, **{The Titanic}**. Police reports have shown that she is still at the bottom of the sea with **{The Titanic}**, only the lid to the coffin had been retrieved.

"Woah, wait. I think I've heard of this. Back when the Titanic sank, people attributed the cause to a curse of some mummy." I say.

Something about this feels familiar, and then it comes to me.

"...Hey! Wait! The note!"

"Note?" Eight asks, looking over to me.

I'd forgotten, he was speaking with Seven when we were discussing these notes.

"Yeah! The note! That third note said that there was a diving team that had found something that "the police had missed"." Meg says, jumping up excitedly.

"Oh! I get it! You think they found the mummy?" Eight remarks.

"Yes! And maybe, this mummy's 'curse' is what caused this ship to 'go under', as they would say." I reply.

"I don't know, I'm not really into 'curses' or the like." Eight says.

"We could chalk it up to a possibility, then. Alright, now quick, check the file on the Titanic II."

Two clicks later, and an almost blank screen pops up, empty except for one garbled mess of text.

**/'''":::?**

"Is it a code?" I ask.

"Dammit, no. It's gibberish. Meant to trick us." Eight says, slamming the keyboard in frustration.

"Alright, Try the Ice one."

"Got it."

Another click, and it shows up on the screen.

** ICE-9**

**{ICE-9}** is a top secret material that is used as a super-preservative. **{ICE-9}** is a polymorph of water more stable than regular ice. Instead of melting at 0 Degrees Celsius (32 Degrees Farenheit), it melts at 45.8 Degrees Celsius (114.4 Degrees Fahrenheit). Living substances can also be preserved within **{ICE-9}**, as even a desert's heat couldn't melt the ice.

"Hm? A super-preservative?" I ask.

"It must've been top secret, because I've never even heard of this stuff."Eight remarks.

"Alright, what is the last one about?"

"It's called "Morphogenetic Field Theory", I think I've heard of this one before..." Eight trails off as he clicks on the file.

** STUDY OF MORPHOGENETIC FIELDS:**

It is generally researched that **{Telepathy}** CAN be reached at one form or another in this dimension. The act of the **{Morphogenetic Field}** concurs with this. Countless studies show that there is a mental link between all human beings, The speculation is that once a subject is learned, it is easier for other unknowledged patients to learn said is theoretical that this field strengthens that bond, allowing some form of **{Telepathy}** to undergo. Some of these fields are speculated to be located within the Bermuda Triangle, both North and South Poles, and along the Equator.

"Well, what the hell is this?" Meg asks.

"It's kind of a bullshit theory, I don't even know why scientists spend all this money to research this. I find it pointless."

"Maybe Zero is just trying to get us to waste time?" I add.

There is a sound from the other side of the room, the door seemed to have unlocked.

"Maybe not, I guess the door was programmed to open when we downloaded all of the files..."

"Hey, let's go check that generator, quick. We don't want to leave any stone unturned here." Eight says.

"Alright." Meg and I say together.

We walk over to the generator, and it's strange, because it's not like any generator I've ever seen. There's a giant "0" painted on the front, and the rest is blank. There is a little hatch on the front of the generator. Curious, I open it.

"Well, what's inside?" Meg asks.

I stick my arm inside the generator hatch, and feel around. A slip of paper brushes against my hand, and I grab it.

"It's...paper, another note perhaps?"

I pull it out, and unfold it. Another note.

They gather around me, as I read it aloud.

_**I hear you have been running into some problems with [ZERO].**_

_**If you can help me, I can return the favor.**_

_**I will leave another letter in The Moon Room.**_

_**Examine the area under the steering wheel for another letter.**_

_**If you can find it, follow it's directions and you may just escape this ship.**_

_**~Truth**_

"Huh? What is the 'Moon Room'?" I ask.

"I don't know, maybe it's another room in this ship?" Meg answers.

"Is someone else hiding out on this ship? And can we trust them?" Eight asks.

"I guess we'll have to for now, We may actually get out of this alive guys." I say, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's not waste too much more time." Eight says.

"To think, only three hours ago, we woke up on this nasty old ship."

"Welp, let's get a move on."

I open the handle, and swing open the door, a little of a spring in my step, I walk through.

When we walk through the door, we enter a hospital room. Across the room, there is two numbered doors, [1], and [6]. I see Six, Seven, Three, and One. There is no sign of Two or Nine.

My smile immediately vanishes.

"...Was that scream...?" Meg begins to ask.

One silently nods his head.

"...How...?"

It feels like I had just been kicked in the stomach. I mean, he was a dick, but it's still horrible.

"Number Nine had...wandered off. I didn't hear it until it was too late. The bomb inside his body...went off." One replies.

"...And Two?" I ask.

"I don't know. We split up to find Nine, I haven't met back up with her." Three says, his face is grave.

"We have to go back and look for her! We can't leave her behind!" I

"Five, It's pointless. I know you want to be the hero here, but it'd just waste time." Three says and shakes his head.

"How could you say that? That is an innocent human stuck in there! we have to do everything to save her!"

"Listen Five, even if we were to find her, it wouldn't do much good. Do you see those doors over there? [1] and [6]? We've calculated that one person has to stay behind for the rest to go through. That person was Two." Seven explains.

"That's...Thats crazy! There must be a solution to where we can all go!"

Meg and Six are in complete silence. I don't blame them. Yet I'm almost tearing up at the thought of leaving someone stranded here.

"...Five, it's the only way. I'm sorry." One lowers his head.

"...I'll stay back, I'll go and get Two, and she'll move ahead."

"Five, now _that's_ crazy talk, you know I'm not leaving you behind!" Meg breaks out of her silence.

"Four's right! You're not staying here!" Six seems to have also.

"See how quick you come to my defense? I can't let her die. She might have kids back home. How would they survive if their mother is stranded on this god-forsaken ship?"

"Five, it isn't your battle, you're coming with us." Seven says, bluntly.

"C'mon, We can't spend forever arguing." Eight says to try to calm me down.

"If I don't at least check for her, I'm letting her die. Please, let me do this, one of the other teams can leave first."

"That'd be Me, Four, and Three." Eight says, calculating the numbers.

"Please, let me take a look." I beg.

"...Okay, you better not die back there, or I'll kill you." Meg sighs, and walks towards the door.

I smirk at this, and prepare for my trip back through Door [3].

"Wait! Five!"

Six comes running over to me.

"What? You're not talking me out of this..."

She catches up to me, and grabs the handle.

"Well, considering how stubborn you're being about this, I wasn't planning on it. But I'm not letting you go through here alone."

"Thanks."

"No problem, consider it my thanks for stepping up to Nine for me."

She opens the handle, and we step through.

The smell of blood is apparent throughout the room.

Somebody definitely died in here, to our dismay.

This room seems to be an old research room, there's a few rooms separated by high beams. Tables litter the middle of the room, with some tack-boards along the walls.

"Yughhhk, That's nasty." I say, pinching my nose.

"You said it."

I walk over to the table and notice something odd, a lone sheet of paper.

"Another one?"

"Huh? What is it, Five?"

"It's another Note."

"Read what it says."

**{REDACTED}** YEAR 2 3/17/2013

Well, it seems we are a bit lucky today, we found some more artifacts down there, we have to be cautious though, because some of 'em are explosive. Been fighting with the wife again, she says I've been too invested in this boat. Some people just don't understand, this could be a great historic and scientific achievement!

"This guy really wasn't much of a family man, huh?" I say, placing the note in my pocket.

"No, it doesn't seem like it. Hey wait, explosives? Maybe that's what physically caused the ship to blow up?"

"Sounds plausible."

"Oh boy, now you're sounding like Eight."

She chuckles.

I can't hold back a chuckle either.

"Hey."

"Yeah?" Six looks at me, fixing her hair.

"Who...Who do you think is behind all of this?"

"Wouldn't that be...Zero?"

"Well yes, there is him, but is it just him? Is Zero really just a wealthy megalomaniac bored of life? Or is he being funded by a whole group? Makes you wonder."

"Well...I had never thought about it like that. Could it be both?"

"Hm, maybe. I mean, what is the point gathering nine random people together and force them to escape? Makes no sense."

"Well, we aren't _all _random."

"Yeah, that's right, You and Three, and Nine to a lesser extent."

"And you and Four, and to Three and I to a lesser extent."

"What?"  
"When Three and I went to his school for orientation, I saw you there. You had a huge pile of books in your hand."

"Oh, Well, That was quite a bit ago, wasn't that? You remember this specifically?"

"Yeah...Because I had like, the biggest crush on you."

She looks down at her feet.

I don't even have to be told that I'm blushing, the heat rises to my head.

"Oh...Well...yeah, I remember seeing your brother at school sometimes."

"It was kind of stupid of me, I see how you and Four are together, I guess I really can't beat a childhood friend, can't I?"

And this is the awkward moment I'd dreaded.

"Oh, me and...Four? Well, we hadn't really spoken since her father had uprooted their family way back when."

"Oh well, I guess it's kind of a happy reunion for you two, huh?"

"Oh, yeah...I guess."

There is a period of awkward silence.

"Shit, Two! I forgot all about her!" I yell out.

"Oh, fuck! I'm sorry, we should get moving!"

"Well, let's do a quick scour through and see if we can find her." I respond.

"Alright, will do."

We split up, and check various rooms. I frantically shout for Two, I keep searching until...

"Oh God..."

"What? Did you find-"

We both stop and stare at what seems to be the mangled bodies of Two and Nine, side by side.

"Oh my god...I'm going to throw up." I say, already feeling the bile rise into my throat.

"This...this is..."

I go over and grab a trash can nearby, and puke straight into it.

"Oh...God fucking dammit."

"L-Look, they're bracelets aren't here..." Six points out.

"I'm sorry...I cannot even bear to look at them...How the hell are you so calm?!"

"I...I've seen dead bodies before. My father was a forensics expert, I've been on a few expeditions with him. So the initial reactions are a bit more scarce."

I throw up again.

"Like that..."

"I...I'm going. I can't stand here anymore."

"Alright, let's join up with the others."

We get up, and exit to join with the others.

When we return into the hospital room, One and Seven are standing, waiting for us.

"Did you find Two?" One asks, slight hope in his voice.

"Yeah...about that..." Six begins.

"Yes. We found Two." I interrupt.

"Oh! That's Excellent! Where is she?"

I feel so shaken. I almost lose consciousness.

"She...she's dead. She and Nine were sitting right next to each other, barely recognizable."

"T-That's...that's awful!" Seven blurts out.

The most emotion I've seen out of her yet.

"My lord, are you serious?!" One exclaims.

"...Yes. They were both dead, and they're bracelets were gone, too."

As I finish, the green light above Door [6] Lights up.

"Let's just go. I don't want to stay here any longer." I say, trying to get that image out of my mind.

"Agreed." Six says.

"Okay." One says.

Seven is silent.

We open up the door, gravely assured of our goals, and we step on through.


	5. ARC 1: Chapter 4 - Death

We enter the door, It is quiet until Seven stops walking. I turn around and see her standing, hands in her pockets.

"Seven, you okay? We have to keep moving. The others are waiting for us."

She's staring straight ahead, but not really at me.

"I would guess they are..." She says blankly.

One and Six stop walking, and also look towards Seven.

"It's too bad that they won't be seeing you for quite a while." She says calmly.

"What does that mean, Seven? Surely-" Six begins to say.

Seven looks down for a moment. When she looks back up, she pulls something out of her pocket, and points it at us.

It's a gun.

"S-Seven, What the hell are you doing?"

I look at Six and One, who are just as paralyzed as I am.

Seven grins slightly.

"Oh, he didn't tell you? I can say I'm not surprised, he's not one for telling the truth often."

"What? Who is 'he'? And how did you even get that?!" I ask.

Before I know it, she's aiming the gun right at me.

"Hm, I'll let you figure out that first one, and the gun I managed to find in one of the rooms back."

"Listen...this is a mistake." One says.

She fires at the ground once.

"The only mistake here is Zero, and I'm going to get out of here. Now, hand me your bracelets."

"Are you that fucking dense?! Once you kill us, that bomb inside you will blow!" I scream.

"Not if the bracelets are kept in close proximity, it won't." Seven explains.

"What do you mean?" Six asks.

"I'm a part of the company that _made _ these bracelets. I know how they function. Now drop to the floor, and say your fucking prayers."

"Listen, we can talk this ou-" I begin to say.

She holds up the gun. and then shoots again.

The bullet digs into my right arm.

"GyaaSHIT!" I scream as I fall to the floor, grasping at my arm.

"Five!"

Six screams and runs over to me.

"W...Fuck...It hurts..."

I take away my hand, and it's coated dark red.

"You want me to end the pain? Just ask, and I'll be ever so merciful." Seven grins and spins the gun around her finger.

She shoots another one off, and it sticks in my leg.

I have never been in more pain in my life, I scream as loud as humanly possible.

One goes to his knees, his arms behind his head.

Six looks at me, then at One in tears.

"You're just giving up?! We can't die here...We can't!"

"S-Seven. Let them go, and you can have my bracelet, I won't struggle." I groan, sitting up, every muscle and fiber in me in pain.

"No! Five, you are _not_ doing this!"

"Six, You need to go, your brother would be devastated if you died here."

"Aw, what a nice moment. That gives me a great idea, why don't I kill her first?"

She points the gun right at Six.

I don't know what happens next, or how it happens, but I see One stand up into a shoulder-bump and slams Seven into the wall.

A bullet is fired.

I don't see where it went, but I see the aftermath. The bullet was richochet'd right into Seven's jugular.

It doesn't take long before she stops breathing.

"One...You saved our lives." I say, between breaths.

"I'm not that old to be giving up yet, son."

"See, Five? You're not going anywhere..."

She bursts out into tears, and gives me a full hug.

I try to hug back, but the pain in my leg and arm are too much. She notices.

"Oh...my god, I forgot. You're bleeding really badly, and no, before you suggest it, I'm not leaving you behind."

"I...Okay."

She and One take me up, and carry me over to the rest of the room, which seems to be a small office.

"...There doesn't seem to be any puzzle of any kind in this room, how odd. The door is even unlocked." One notices.

"I guess _that_ was the puzzle." I say.

"But...How could Zero...?" Six says.

"She said she worked for the company that made these bracelets. Maybe Zero brought her here to betray us?" One proposes.

"I don't know, but there's another note here, on the door out."

**{REDACTED} YEAR 2 7/09/2013**

We've completed the schematics to the ship. Many people are opposed to the idea of re-creating one of history's most fatal accidents, but I believe we can make this a part of history no one will ever be able to forget.

"Well...I guess he got his wish." Six says.

"Let's just get out of here, so if we can see if we can treat those wounds..." One replies.

I feel very conflicted inside. I don't know what to believe anymore.

We exit the room, and I near pass out on the way out.

Through the door, Six and One are practically carrying me, I am half conscious and I'm losing blood fast.

My eyes flicker, slightly, I can see Four, Three, and Eight in the distance.

"Oh. My. God. What happened to him?! FIVE?! Move out of the way!" Meg screams.

She rushes past Three and Eight.

"Seven betrayed us, she shot Five twice, he's losing blood fast." Six explains.

"She got shot by a stray bullet in the end, she's dead now."

"F...Four." I weakly call out.

My vision is waning.

She begins crying.

"Y-Yes? Gavin?"

"What about our cod-" Three begins to say  
"Fuck the code names! My best friend is _dying _ over here, and I can't do fucking anything about it!"

One looks over at her.

"...You really care about him, don't you?"

"Of course I fucking care about him! Ever since we were kids..."

I can see Six crying behind everyone else, and Meg in front of me.

Eight comes forward,

"There might be a chance we can save him."

"Really? Tell me, please!"

"Back in the hospital room...I think I may have seen some first-aid."

"Go get it! Hurry!"

He leaves as fast as he can towards the hospital room. I can barely move.

The last thing I see is Meg hugging me, and then it goes dark.


	6. ARC 1: Chapter 5 - Regret

"Hey...Four, he's getting up!"

My eyes open slowly, and I can see Three shaking Meg awake, who was sleeping by my side.

I sit up, my arm and leg still burn a bit, but the pain has died down a bit.

"F...Four?" I slowly say.

"I'm here Gavin, I'm here."

She breaks into tears and hugs me.

I close my eyes, and breathe.

"Where's...One Six, and Eight?"

"They went off to check out the area, to scope out some more numbered doors."

"How long do we have?"

"About three hours."

One and Six walk back into the room, followed by Eight.

"How'd the search go?" I ask.

"No numbered Doors." Six sighs.

"Damn, what do we do now?"

"There was one thing though..." One adds.

"What was it?"

"There were two doors." One says.

"I thought you said there weren't any-" Three begins.

"Numbered doors, she said no numbered doors. These two had a moon and a sun on them."

"Huh? That's weird."

"How do we know who will go through which door?" I ask.

"We don't." One says.

"I say we stay with somewhat even teams, we don't know if the rules still apply with these doors." Eight adds, breaking his silence.

"So, who should go through each room?"

"We began speaking about that on the way back. Through the Sun Room will be Three, Four, and Eight." One says.

"So, I'm guessing that leaves you, Six and I?

"Looks like it."

I stand up, a little sore.

"You think you can make it?" Meg asks.

"Yeah, I should be fine."

It takes me a second, but I gather my bearings, and we head towards the two doors.

The doors seem to be in the ballroom of the ship, almost a mirror image of each other on the walls.

"Well, who wants to go first?" I ask.

"I think we should, isn't that Truth person's letter hidden in the Moon Room?" One suggests.

"Hey, yeah! That's right!" Meg calls out.

"You three go on ahead, that letter can help us get out of here." Eight says.

Six looks slightly confused, but she shrugs it off.

I grab hold of the handle, and thrust the door open and we enter the Moon Room.

The lights are dim, it's hard to see.

"I...I can't see much in here." I say.

"Neither can I. Let's try to look for a light switch or something." Six suggests.

"You think one would work, even if we found one?" I ask.

"I dunno, there was a generator a few rooms back, it's a possibility." One says.

I walk a little bit farther, hoping to find something that could be used as a light.

Thankfully, there's a flashlight in one of the nearby drawers.

I turn it on, and some of the room becomes visible, We are in the Captain's Room.

On the ground lays two objects, a note, and a bracelet, Marked [0].

"Hey, Look at this!"

"What does it say?"

_**{REDACTED}** YEAR 4 6/29/2016_

_Tomorrow is the day._  
_The ship is planned to launch tomorrow._  
_Little do they know, I have a surprise for the non-believers._  
_My workers, deserted me._  
_My family, left me._  
_My nation, exiled me._

_Tomorrow..._

"What is...this?!" I ask/

"I guess the guy cracked. So we have a nutjob, a huge ship, and explosives. I can see how this ship was destroyed." Six says, crossing her arms.

"Makes sense." One says calmly.

"Now...what about this bracelet? It's labeled [0]."

"Maybe it's part of the game?" I say.

"What do you mean?" Six asks.

"If you have the [0] bracelet, my guess is you wouldn't need three people to enter a door."

"Like if Four and I wanted to go through the [9] door alone, we'd just use the [0] bracelet?" I ask.  
"Exactly, Same could be said for Eight and I, or Six and Three."

"But that means the others get left behind!"

"Yeah, True."

"The way I see it, we have some options for Door [9]." One begins to explain.

"Eight and I leave with the [0] Bracelet.  
Six and Three leave with the [0] Bracelet.

Four and Five leave with the [0] Bracelet.

Eight, Six and Four leave.

Three, Five and I leave.

Or Three, Five, Four and Six leave.

No matter which way we decide, people are going to get left behind."

"..."

"No, There must be a way that we all can escape...There _has _to!" I adamantly say.

"I'm sorry to say it Five, but it's going to happen."

One is shaking his head.

"I refuse to leave anybody behind. Maybe there's something in that letter..."

"I heard you speaking aout this outside, what letter?" Six asks.

"A few rooms back, there was a letter from someone named Truth, they're on the ship, and said there was another letter in here that would help us..."

"Are you sure we should be trusting Truth?"

"What else can we do?"

"I don't like this..."

"Whatever, I'm going to look over here for it, the letter said it was by the steering wheel or something."

"I'll come and help too." Six says.

"Alright...Fine, do what you want. I'll go check over here to see if anything important is over here."

Six and I walk over to the steering wheel.

"Hmm...If I were Truth, where would I hide a letter?"

"I don't know, but I hope we find it fast, we're running out of time..."

I grip the wheel in my hands, thinking...

As I do, one of the handles slides off, and a paper rolled up into a tube falls out.

"Well I'll be..."

"Well hurry! Read it!"

I unfold it, and do so.

_**I pray that you find this letter, if not, you are all doomed.**_

_**Do NOT Exit through Door 9!  
It is a trap.**_

_**Zero is among you, yet you do not know it.**_

_**The real exit off of the ship is through Door 0.**_

_**Door 0 is located in the submerged D Deck.**_

_**Use the bracelet in this room, and you all can leave.**_

_**~Truth**_

"Zero is among you? I don't even..." I say in complete and utter disbelief.

"That means Zero...is on this ship right now?!"

"According to Truth, he is."

"I cannot even imagine Zero being one of us, it's horrible to think about."

Just then, One re-enters the room.

"Did you two find the letter?"

"Yeah, it's right here."

I hand him the letter.

"It's a trap, what it's saying here, you know that right?"

"We could at least try it!"

"Five, how long can you breathe underwater?"

"Uh...about...forty seconds?"

"Alright, tell me how you're going to survive going down to the _submerged _[D Deck]?"

"D-Deck was right near where we started! Zero could've lied to us so we wouldn't try it and win right away!" Six says.

"See, One? A perfectly logical reason."

"And what if Zero put that note there, so you'd think that? What if Truth is Zero? They said that Zero is on this ship, and I don't doubt anyone of us..."

"Well...look, we aren't going to get anywhere by arguing, let's just solve this puzzle and get out of here."

"Avoiding the topic, because you know I'm right, right?" One says.

"C'mon, we'll discuss it as a group, let's just do this."

We walk over to the steering wheel. One looks confused for a moment, and furrows his brow.

"Wait...This is the wrong kind of wheel..."

"What?"

"This kind of wheel you'd use for a little steamboat, not a huge cruise ship." One explains.  
"How'd you say that? Aren't they the same?" Six asks.

"No, they're actually not, to a trained eye, you can spot the differences."

I see him take off the steering wheel with ease, and he hands it off to me.

"Put this somewhere, I'm going to look for the real wheel."

I set it down next to me.

I look over at Six, who looks puzzled.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, something just strikes me as odd..."

"I don't know, wait, what's that?"

Under the dock, a sledgehammer sits.

"A Sledgehammer?" I ask, picking it up."

"Well, any area around here seems too hard to break, and plus, we don't want to get water spreading in here..."

"Right...hey, back in that first room Four and I woke up in...I think there was a way down to D-Deck there . I think it was covered with a thin sheet of metal."

"You think this hammer was left here for that?"

"I do. I think that is our entrance to D-Deck."

One comes back into the room, a newer, bigger wheel in his arms, he goes over, and puts it on the slot. The door to the right of us unlocks.

"Way to go One!" Six cheers.

"What's that?" One asks, pointing to the hammer in my arms.

"It's a sledgehammer, I'm going to open the way to D-Deck."

"What?! Do you wish to kill us all?!"

"One, back in that first room, there was a thin sheet of metal covering the entrance to D-Deck. If it was totally flooded and still filling, the water pressure could easily take off that sheet?"

"I don't know. I'm not really a scientist, so I wouldn't be able to guess if it could or not."

"I'm betting that D-Deck is our way out One. I have a gut feeling about this." I say, staring straight into his eyes, something is familiar about this man, yet I cannot put my finger on it.

"Alright, I concede, we can try out Room [0]." He sighs, hunching over.

"Alright, we're all on the same page, let's go meet up with the others."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Six says.

We go over to the door, and open it.  
We're one step closer to getting off of this ship.


	7. ARC 1: Chapter 6 - Penultimate

Walking down the hallway, it really is a momentous task, surviving this game. I take a breath of relief, noticing we are _so_ close to getting out of here.

We reach the corner, and I hear remnants of whispers, I stop. One and Six stop behind me as well.

"We have to tell him!"

"That's not the smartest idea right now!"

"C'mon! He's protected my sister how many times now? I can't just not tell him."

I realize the voices are Three and Eight...and they're speaking about me.

"It'd be better he finds out later, we can't have him slowing us down, we're almost there!" Eight says, desperate.

"Eight! We _have _to te-"

I step forward.

"Tell me what? And where's Four?"

"Five, I-"

"Where...Is...Four? If she's back in the room, I can go get her..."

Eight looks down.

"Five...She's not back in the room."

"Well then...where is..."

I then see it.

A torn body, a body I can only recognize as one person.

"No..."

"Five, I'm so sorry. She wandered off I guess..."

"No...She wouldn't just..."

My heart drops.

"...I..."

I drop to my knees.

"It's my fault, I should've gone with her..." I say.

"Five, It's not your fault, The letter you found could save us all."

"It couldn't save Four..."

"Five, I know this is horrible, but we need to move, we only have an hour left." Three sighs and places his hands in his pockets.

"I...I can't go. I just can't..."

"Five, Four would want you to live..." Six says, grabbing my shoulder.

"Please...Just leave me be here. Take this stupid hammer."

I throw it to the ground, it clangs horribly against the metal ground.

"Five, Come the fuck on, we need to go!" Eight yells, out of character.

"Eight, please shut the fuck up. You don't know what I'm-"

"Feeling right now? Of course I do. I've been feeling it for the past couple of hours."

"In what way?" I look up at him.

He sighs.

"Seven was my...my girlfriend. Now you are going to pick up that hammer, we are going to get out of here, and we are going to make Zero wish he had never met us."

I look at him for a minute in total silence, understanding why they had been talking before, why Eight had said he wanted to protect her...but why had she betrayed us? So many unanswered questions.

I stand up.

"Eight...You're right."

I pick up the sledgehammer.

"Let's go kick this motherfucker's ass."

They cheer.

I then bring out the second letter from Truth, and explain what we should do.

"Alright, That sounds like a plan. Let's get moving." Three remarks.

"I've got this for backup." Eight says.

He holds up the gun Seven had.

"Eight, one question..." I ask, looking to the side.

"Why'd your girlfriend try to kill us? Much less shoot me twice?"

"I...I'm not sure."

He looks like he's not telling us something, maybe something to do with what they were talking about earlier.

"This one is for Seven." He says.

"And for Four." I say, brandishing the sledgehammer.

"And Two." Six says.

"Eugh, and Nine to some extent." Three groans.

We backtrack to the room with the metal plating. Our destiny unfolding in front of our very eyes, this ship becoming less of a grave, and more of a memory. A memory of survival.

"Over here, this is where it was weak." I say, pointing towards the metal nailed to the wall.

"Five, Have the honor of smashing a part of this boat to bits." Three says, looking at the metal.

"Why, thank you Three."

I smash as much as I can, half of it to get through this hell hole, half of it for venting my anger at Zero.

There is a staircase leading downstairs, Completely dry.

"Well, let's get this over with." I say, beginning to walk down the stairs.

Darkness envelops us as we descend into the depths of D-Deck.


	8. ARC 1: Chapter 7 - Finale

I lead the way down the stairs. My determination cannot be stopped now. This sick, twisted being is going to die today. I cannot even stand to call him a person. We walk down the stairs, and we are lead into a new room, the largest on this entire ship. Yet it's...different than the rest.

It's similar to a mix between a laboratory and a gray walls and desks are cluttered about with papers that are filled with technical nonsense. There is a raised section off to the right with an altar, and a casket surrounded by several lit candles. There is a chilling silence to the air.

On the far side of the room, there is a cylindrical door that has a "0" on it. It seems to be the door of an elevator.

"There it is! There's Door 0!" I scream, the joy is almost palpable.

A scream shoots through the air.

I quickly turn back to look at the others, they are right behind me, same as before, as confused as I am about the scream.

Then there is a _thump_.

It keeps happening.

_Thump_. _Thump_. _Thump_.

I look to the other side of the room, where the altar is, and I slowly pace over to the casket.

_Thump_. _Thump_. _Thump_.

"H-Hey guys! I think there's someone in here!" I call out.

The others come, and I ask One and Three to help me lift the cover of the casket off, yet One isn't here.

Three says he hasn't seen One since before we left D-Deck.

"Old fart probably got lost. We'll look for him after we find secure the exit.

It's much heavier than I had expected. The cover smashes to the ground with a bang, and inside is a woman, with a darkish skin tone, neck length black hair, and some really old age clothes.

"T...Truth?" I ask.

"I will say, I am glad you found my letters." She said, a certain...mysteriousity clings to her voice.

"What the hell were you doing in the coffin?" Three puts it bluntly.

"I've been in this coffin since the last Nonary Game...five years ago." She says.

We all look at her with confused looks.

"I...I don't see how that is possible." I say.

"Oh, it's entirely possible, especially when your body doesn't need food or water for sustenance."

"That's...impossible." Eight mutters.

"Oh, it is possible. Jack could explain it all to you. I mean, he was the one who put me in that coffin so many years ago." She says..

"Jack?" I ask.

"Jack Adata, the man who set these events in motion all those years ago."

"Wait...Wait just a minute...Mr. Adata?!" I say, in full disbelief.

"Who is he, Five?"

"I-It's Four's Dad..."

Is this another connection through this web of the Nonary Game?

"The name Truth is just an alias for me, some of you may know me as...The Priestess of Amen-Ra."

"Woah, Wait...what?!"

"Back in my time, I was to be buried alongside my pharaoh, instead, they poured...this mysterious chemical into my tomb. I was frozen solid."

Those computer files all of a sudden make sense.

"I think I know what that 'substance' was." I respond.

"If you mean the Ice-9, then you are right." She says.

"A top-secret super-preservative by the codename of [ICE-9], discovered by the ancient egyptians for transport of materials throughout the desert. It's existence has been kept a secret through the Millenniums...mostly."

"Mostly?" Eight asks.

"Jack rediscovered it with his company. He found out the chemical compounds within Ice-9, and superheated the compound enough to the point where my life force had been preserved."

"So...you said there was events he put into place, what did you mean?"

"This isn't the first Nonary Game to be played. There was another five years ago."

"F-Five years ago?!

"That is correct, Jack, his daughter and I were all players." She says.

"Jack and his...wait, Meg was in it?!"

"Ah, yes. Poor thing died in the game, I'd almost forgotten."

Five years, so this game was why Meg had moved away.

"Wait a minute...I think you've made a mistake ma'am, Meg didn't die in the previous game." I explain.

"Hm?"

"She...she was alive in this game, _was._" I cringe as I say it.

She keeps a straight face.

"It seems you do not know all the information. All the cards in play of this game." She says.

"I-I don't understand." I reply.

"You will in time. Shall we move on? Door [0] is waiting."

"But there are still so many unanswered questions!" I say.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they will be answered once we leave this game." She says, and begins to walk off.

"So, Miss...uh, Truth, about this door..." Eight begins.

"Call me...Alice." She says.

"Alice?" Three asks.

"I learned your language after my frozen stasis, and after being trapped in all ice, I believe Alice fits."

We approach the door, it's weird, there's no handle or knob...or anything really.

Except for a scanner by the side of the door to the elevator.

"Scan your bracelets, including the [0] one, and the door should open."

"Don't you have a bracelet?" Six asks.

"Yes, mine was the [0] bracelet. It was the reason Jack locked me in the coffin, because I hid it from him."

"How...did you get it off?"

"My heart does not beat as yours does, my guess is from the time in my cryo-sleep. The bracelet must have not been able to detect it's beat, and therefore came off."

I nod in understanding, I see the others do the same.

"Well, we all ready to end this thing?" I ask.

I look to every single one of them, and hold my arm up to the scanner.

"Scanning successful. Number Five, you may pass." A robotic voice calls out.

I step aside, letting Six go next.

"Scanning successful. Number Six, you may pass."

Three, Eight and the [0] bracelet repeat the process.

"All numbers accounted for, signing off." The voice says.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"It seems like this machine was programmed to shut off after all of the bracelets were scanned.

"But...All of them weren't, One isn't here, and neither are Nine, Seven or Two's bracelets." Three explains.

Alice shrugs.

The elevator door opens up.

"This is it. The only way we can go is up now." Six says.

"Let's do this." I say.

We climb into the elevator, and there is one button.

"UP"

Eight presses it, and we are launched upward into the darkness above us.

We appear at the top of a giant building. It is a lone skyscraper in the middle of what seems to be a jungle.

The building must be about forty stories tall, it is humongous.

We are all speechless.

Across the building is a robed figure staring out into the distance, Zero.

Another figure stands between Zero and us, it's One.

"One! Where have you been?!" I call out.

**"Well, it looks like you have survived. Congratulations." **A heavily distorted voice cuts out, it's Zero speaking.

"You...you bastard. You took Meg from me."

**"Meg? There is no Meg." **He heartlessly says.**  
**

"Yeah! Because of _your _ shitty game! It's all your fault you selfish prick!" I hold the sledgehammer in my hands.

**"It was not I who had killed your friend."**

He turns around, I see the gas mask, in all of it's horror. I cannot even believe what he is saying.

I am so furious, I go run up to him swinging the hammer.

He dodges to the left, barely moving.  
The momentum sends me toppling over the building, until I am caught by a hand...Zero's hand.

One is standing by and watching this all unfold, as are the others. The only two beings that seem to matter are Zero and I.

He pulls me back up and sets me down.

**"I am not the one that killed Meg."**

"Oh, yeah right! I see nobody here responsible except for you!"

**"The one who killed your friend...it was him."**

He points at One.

"W-What? That's impossible! One was with me when..._it_ happened."

**"Wrong. One was the only one that****_ was _**** there when it happened. The only one to condemn his own daughter for his own life."**

There is hurt and despair in his voice as he says this.

"What...What are you talking about?"

**"You should know very well what I'm talking about...Gavvy."**

My eyes grow wide. I stand completely still. Everyone does the same except for One.

He is standing there, smirking.

"M...Meg?" I drop the hammer, and for the second time, it clangs to the ground.

"Oh bravo Megan, you've put on quite a show for your old man" One says, as he is giving a false applause.

**"For the good of the company. That's the reason you gave me, before you shoved me into that incinerator."**

"Wait...It really was...I don't understand any of this..."

"Back during the first Nonary Game, My daughter and I were one of two candidates picked by the company I now own, Adata Inc. to participate in the Nonary Game. If I lived, I'd be wealthy and famous beyond demand." One explains.

**"We were nearing the end...and the final room was a boiler room. Before we were about to escape, he pushed me inside the incinerator, and stole my bracelet. He was the only escapee of that Nonary Game."  
**"Oh, Megan. You paint me like such a villain. My success at that game was necessary for the development of many world advancements."

**"Don't bullshit me. I'm not here to convince you of anything, only to bring justice."**

"One question...How are you here? Like...here, here."

**"That one can be explained. Remember Morphogenetic fields? We are on top of a building which is a replica of the Titanic II, which lies directly on the Equator."  
**"So, you're like a super-ghost?"

**"For lack of a better word, yes. I'm so sorry I had to involve you, Gavin. I had to try and stop my father. I was running out of time, and getting desperate."  
**

"Stop him from what?"

**"Those notes, Gavin. ****_He_**** is the man who constructed the original Titanic II. He deserted his family, no matter what he says, for his 'company' that kills people for money."**

I look towards One.

"You see son, no matter which country, town, neighborhood, people love to see violence. They will pay through the nose for a good drama as well. My company profits off of the Nonary Game, as well as other, top-secret operations."

"That's...horrible!" I scream.

"Now, Megan. Now that you've thrown your tantrum, I've work to get back to, 'Twas fun. Ciao!"

He takes something out of his pocket, a switch, and presses it.  
Two Jet packs extend out of his coat, and he takes to the sky.

**"No! Get back here you spineless bastard!"**

He flies off, muttering to himself.

**"Damnit!" **

I close my eyes for a minute, then turn back to Zero...No, Meg.

"I need one thing..."

She turns around, back to me.

"Take of the mask for a second..."

She does so. Her face is distorted slightly, but I can still see that it's the same old Meg.

"...I cannot stay for long Gavin, I've already used up a physical form twice...that's why I look like this."

I go up and hug what I can of her, she's slowly fading away.

"I don't care. I'm not letting you go without doing this." I say.

"...!"

"Meg...You've been my friend and will always be my friend, I'm so sorry everything has turned out this way."

"I'm so sorry for bringing you into this..." She says, tears streaming from her face.

"No, don't be. I've gotten to see you for one last time, and I've met a bunch of new friends..."

She's full out crying.

"Meg...I have to say this, I love you, I always have."

"I know, I...felt the same way...But there's no way...There's another for you here. I know she likes you too...You'll be better off than staying here with a memory..."

"..."

I know arguing is futile, but I cannot stop crying.

"My time is almost up...Promise me one thing, Gavin." She says.

"Yeah?"

"Take down my father and his stupid company...Save those innocent lives."

"I'll do it. I'll do it Meg."

This is the last she says, she closes her eyes, and fully fades away.

The others walk up to me.

"Fi-Gavin, I'm so sorry..." Six says, tears glint the corners of her eyes.

"Dude..." Three trails off.

"..." Eight is silent.

"Mr. Gavin..." Alice begins.

I look to the ground, and look back up, tears still in my eyes.

"Guys...let's go kick some ass. Now...how do we get down from here?!"

Everyone starts chuckling.

I smile a little bit.

This 'Adata Inc.' better watch it's back.

Because we are going to strike.

They will go through hell.

For Meg.


	9. ARC 2: Prologue - Intermission

[December 24th, 2017]

My name is Gavin Daniels.

Six months ago, I was kidnapped and placed in the middle of a sick and twisted game. It was run by my late best friend to bring justice to her father, Jack Adata.

His company, Adata Inc. hosts games just like the one we were in, and "other, unexplained operations", as he had put it.

We survived, we had a escaped the Titanic II...sort of. It was a replica, of the replica of the original RMS Titanic.

We eventually were able to leave the building, and we walked through the encompassing jungle for what seemed like hours. We were all starving, and dehydrated. It didn't look like we were going to leave that jungle alive.

We were lucky, though, Some explorers had happen to run across us, and gave us a ride back to America.

This was six months ago.

Today is Christmas Eve, I am here with my new girlfriend, Gracie Jackson, previously known as Six,

Adam Jackson, previously known as Three,

Tom Hadley, previously known as Eight,

and Alice, the Priestess of Amen-Ra.

We are now staying in an apartment I rented in downtown San Francisco with some of the money I had saved up during college.

During the past six months, we have been trying to gather any information at all regarding "Adata Inc.", as per the final wishes of my late best friend, Megan Adata.

Results have been...dissapointing, to say in the least.

Nothing has turned up at all. Whether we check on the internet, local resources, anything. Adata Inc. has completely hidden themselves from society.

It looks like we have to do a little legwork on our own.

This is our story.


End file.
